Balancing Training with Life’s Demands
We all know that consistency is king when it comes to endurance training. But let’s be real—life doesn’t always cooperate. Work, family, social commitments, and unexpected curveballs can make it challenging to stick to a rigid off the shelf training plan. That’s where Athletica’s new Daily Availability feature comes in, offering a smarter, more adaptable way to train around your schedule while still optimizing performance.
The Power of Context in Training
As Martin Bucheit pointed out in his very first HIIT Science blog, Content is King, but Context is God. Training plans alone don’t cut it—what really matters is how training fits within your life.
That’s why we’ve invested over three years into building the intelligence behind Daily Availability—because context is complex.
Unlike traditional training platforms that force rigid schedules, Athletica lets you define when, for how long, and which exercise modes you can train. This ensures your training is tailored to your real-world constraints while still progressing you toward your goals.
How It Works
Custom Scheduling at Your Fingertips
Athletica’s Daily Availability feature (found in Settings=>Training) allows you to customize your training availability by selecting:
✅ Which days you want to train (or set as rest days)
✅ The duration available for training each day (adjustable via a slider)
✅ The preferred training mode for each day:
- Swim 🏊♂️
- Bike 🚴♂️
- Run 🏃♂️
- Row 🚣♀️
- Strength & Conditioning 🏋️♀️
- Rest 🛌
Each option is color-coded for clarity:
- Dark filled-in icon = “I want training prescribed.”
- Very light grey icon = “I don’t want training prescribed.”
- Middle grey icon = “Let Athletica decide.”
If your schedule is fairly irregular, you might choose to leave the settings open and simply move or delete sessions manually as needed. But if you have set training days or limited availability, this feature ensures Athletica respects your constraints while still building an effective plan.
⚠️ Don’t forget: It can take time before the AI delivers your final optimized plan. There are heavy computations happening in the backend brain of Athletica. Best practice? Set your constraints, submit your plan, and come back in a few hours to see your fully optimized training schedule.
Smart Training Optimization, No Matter Your Schedule
The real magic of Daily Availability isn’t just about scheduling—it’s about optimization. Many training platforms will simply drop sessions on selected days without adjusting for overall performance improvement. Athletica, however, goes further by ensuring each session remains purpose-driven and contributes to your long-term development.
This means that even with constraints, your training isn’t just scheduled—it’s optimized to make sure you get the most out of every available session. Whether you’re balancing high-performance goals or simply aiming to maintain consistency, Athletica ensures your training remains as effective as possible within your real-world time limits.
Why It Matters
For self-coached athletes and coaches, Daily Availability is a game-changer. It allows for a truly individualized approach that accommodates the realities of busy lives while maintaining a high-performance training structure. Whether you’re a time-crunched triathlete, an ultra-runner balancing long days, or a weekend warrior cyclist trying to fit training around work and family, Athletica ensures that no session is wasted.
Ready to Train Smarter?
Explore Daily Availability in Athletica today and take control of your training like never before. Train when you can, optimize every session, and still hit your performance goals.